NBC confirms Trump town hall at same time as ABC's Biden event after debate fell apart

President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he arrives to hold a Make America Great Again rally as he campaigns at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Oct
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

After the cancellation of the second presidential debate, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have officially lined up competing town hall events instead.

NBC on Wednesday announced it has scheduled a town hall with Trump that will take place on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET. That's the night Trump was previously scheduled to face off against Biden again in the second presidential debate, but the debate was scrapped after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would take place virtually due to COVID-19 concerns and Trump subsequently refused to participate.

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The network also said it received a statement from National Institute of Health Clinical Director Dr. Clifford Lane "indicating that he and Dr. Anthony Fauci have reviewed the president's recent medical data" and concluded "with a high degree of confidence" that he is "not shedding infectious virus," although The New York Times notes that "the network did not explicitly say that Mr. Trump had received a negative result." Trump's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, earlier this week said that the president had tested negative for COVID-19 "on consecutive days" after he was hospitalized with the coronavirus earlier this month.

The next presidential debate, which is set to be the last one prior to the election, is scheduled for Oct. 22.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.